Apparatus and method for providing a visual transition between screens

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, method, and computer program product are described that provide for the display of a visual transition between screens representing different interactive content to indicate to a user that the user is “leaving” (e.g., transitioning away) from one screen and is “entering” (e.g., transitioning to) another screen. In particular, a first graphical effect may be applied to a first screen and a second, different graphical effect may be applied to the second screen. The first graphical effect may be indicative of a transition from display of the first screen to non-display of the first screen, while the second graphical effect may be indicative of a transition from non-display of the second screen to display of the second screen. The combination of the first and second graphical effects may, thus, create for the user a visual transition from the first screen to the second screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No.13/323,132 entitled “Apparatus and Method for Providing a VisualTransition Between Screens,” filed Dec. 12, 2011, the contents of whichare incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to providing avisual transition between screens displaying different interactivecontent on displays of devices by applying different graphical effectsto the screens.

BACKGROUND

Advancements in mobile device technology have provided mobile devices,such as cellular telephones and portable digital assistants (PDAs), thathave increased functionality and allow users greater access and controlof information. Users may access a number of screens displayinginformation, may navigate between screens, and may manipulate theinformation presented on the screens to arrange the information in a waythat suits the user's preferences. Moreover, some of the screensaccessed by the user may comprise information associated with one ormore programs that may or may not be in execution. For example, someprograms may be running, while other programs may be dormant, but may beinvoked upon user interaction with a representation of the program (suchas an icon).

The portable nature of mobile devices generally means that the size ofthe displays provided on the mobile devices is relatively small. Thus,users may, at times, only see portions of the information they haveaccessed depending on how much information can be presented within thearea of the display provided.

Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide an improved mechanism forconveying to the user which screens are being accessed and for allowingthe user to see larger portions of those screens to which the user isnavigating during the transition process.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Accordingly, embodiments of an apparatus, method, and computer programproduct are described that can provide for a visual transition from afirst screen of interactive content to a second screen of interactivecontent. In particular, embodiments of an apparatus for providing for avisual transition between screens may include at least one processor andat least one memory including computer program code. The at least onememory and the computer program code may be configured to, with theprocessor, cause the apparatus to at least provide for display of afirst screen representing a first interactive content, receive an inputfrom a user comprising a movement component, and provide for a visualtransition from the first screen to a second screen representing asecond, different interactive content in response to the input. Thevisual transition may be provided for by applying a first graphicaleffect to the display of the first screen and applying a secondgraphical effect to the display of the second screen, the firstgraphical effect being different from the second graphical effect. Thefirst graphical effect may be indicative of a transition from display ofthe first screen to non-display of the first screen, and the secondgraphical effect may be indicative of a transition from non-display ofthe second screen to display of the second screen. Furthermore, thevisual transition may be proportional to the movement component.

One of the first or second graphical effects may be a fade effect, azoom effect, a pan effect, or a folding effect. In some cases, the firstgraphical effect may comprise a directional component along a first axisand the second graphical effect may comprise a directional componentalong a second axis, where the first axis is different from the secondaxis. Moreover, the movement component of the input may comprise adirectional component, and the directional component of the input may besubstantially the same as the directional component of one of the firstor second graphical effects.

The first interactive content may comprise different information thanthe second interactive content. Additionally or alternatively, the firstinteractive content may be configured to allow the user to interact withthe first interactive content according to a first set of rules, and thesecond interactive content may be configured to allow the user tointeract with the second interactive content according to a second setof rules. In some cases, the memory and computer program code may beconfigured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to provide fordisplay of a viewing area, and the display of at least one of the firstscreen or the second screen may be provided in a portion of the viewingarea.

In some cases, the input may be received via a 3D display and maycomprise a force input representing a pushing of the first screen in the−Z direction. Additionally or alternatively, the second graphical effectapplied to the display of second screen may comprise the second screensliding into a viewing area from an edge of the viewing area.

In other embodiments, a method and a computer program product aredescribed for providing for a visual transition from a first screen ofinteractive content to a second screen of interactive content byproviding for display of a first screen representing a first interactivecontent, receiving an input from a user comprising a movement component,and providing for a visual transition from the first screen to a secondscreen representing a second, different interactive content in responseto the input. The visual transition from the first screen to the secondscreen may be provided by applying a first graphical effect to thedisplay of the first screen and applying a second graphical effect tothe display of the second screen, where the first graphical effect isdifferent from the second graphical effect. The first graphical effectmay be indicative of a transition from display of the first screen tonon-display of the first screen, and the second graphical effect may beindicative of a transition from non-display of the second screen todisplay of the second screen. The visual transition may be proportionalto the movement component.

One of the first or second graphical effects may be a fade effect, azoom effect, a pan effect, or a folding effect. The first graphicaleffect may comprise a directional component along a first axis, and thesecond graphical effect may comprise a directional component along asecond axis, where the first axis is different from the second axis.Furthermore, the movement component of the input may comprise adirectional component, and the directional component of the input may besubstantially the same as the directional component of one of the firstor second graphical effects.

In some cases, the first interactive content comprises differentinformation than the second interactive content. The first interactivecontent may be configured to allow the user to interact with the firstinteractive content according to a first set of rules, and the secondinteractive content may be configured to allow the user to interact withthe second interactive content according to a second set of rules. Themethod may further comprise providing for display of a viewing area, andthe display of at least one of the first screen or the second screen maybe provided in a portion of the viewing area.

In some cases, the input may be received via a 3D display and maycomprise a force input representing a pushing of the first screen in the−Z direction. Additionally or alternatively, the second graphical effectapplied to the display of second screen may comprise the second screensliding into a viewing area from an edge of the viewing area.

In still other embodiments, an apparatus is described for providing fora visual transition from a first screen of interactive content to asecond screen of interactive content. The apparatus includes means forproviding for display of a first screen representing a first interactivecontent, means for receiving an input from a user comprising a movementcomponent, and means for providing for a visual transition from thefirst screen to a second screen representing a second, differentinteractive content in response to the input by applying a firstgraphical effect to the display of the first screen and applying asecond graphical effect to the display of the second screen, where thefirst graphical effect is different from the second graphical effect.The first graphical effect may be indicative of a transition fromdisplay of the first screen to non-display of the first screen, and thesecond graphical effect may be indicative of a transition fromnon-display of the second screen to display of the second screen. Thevisual transition may be proportional to the movement component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a communication system according to anexample embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus forproviding for a visual transition from a first screen of interactivecontent to a second screen of interactive content according to anexample embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a stroke gesture including a movement componentaccording to an example embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4L illustrate a visual transition according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention by showing the progression of thetransition from the first screen to the second screen;

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen that is displayed in only a portion of theviewing area provided according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate a visual transition where the first graphicaleffect is a pan effect and the second graphical effect is a zoom effectaccording to an example embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of methods of providing for a visualtransition from a first screen of interactive content to a second screenof interactive content according to another example embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed,various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms“data,” “content,” “information,” and similar terms may be usedinterchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, receivedand/or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit andscope of embodiments of the present invention.

Additionally, as used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ refers to (a)hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in analogcircuitry and/or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of circuits andcomputer program product(s) comprising software and/or firmwareinstructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that worktogether to cause an apparatus to perform one or more functionsdescribed herein; and (c) circuits, such as, for example, amicroprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requiresoftware or firmware for operation even if the software or firmware isnot physically present. This definition of ‘circuitry’ applies to alluses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example,as used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ also includes an implementationcomprising one or more processors and/or portion(s) thereof andaccompanying software and/or firmware. As another example, the term‘circuitry’ as used herein also includes, for example, a basebandintegrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for amobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellularnetwork device, other network device, and/or other computing device.

As defined herein, a “computer-readable storage medium,” which refers toa physical storage medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memorydevice), can be differentiated from a “computer-readable transmissionmedium,” which refers to an electromagnetic signal.

As noted above, mobile terminals, including devices such as portabledigital assistants (PDAs) and cellular telephones, are becoming smallerin size to allow for greater portability to the user. With the decreasein size of such devices, however, comes a decrease in the spaceavailable for displaying information. In other words, the size of theviewing area through which interactive content (e.g., contacts, e-mailmessages, games, etc.) is presented to the user has become more limitedas a result of more compact devices.

In part to compensate for this decrease in the size of the viewing area,such devices may be provided with additional functionality to allow theuser to interact with and manipulate the displayed content. For example,a user may be able to zoom in on certain portions of the displayedcontent to read small print and may be able to pan (e.g., shift thedisplayed image in a particular direction) to view portions of thecontent that were previously outside the viewing area. In addition, theuser may be able to expand certain aspects of the displayed content,such as to view details regarding a particular displayed icon orindication, launch a program, or open a new window within the viewingarea.

The user's ability to manipulate the display and arrangement of content,however, may in some cases cause the user to forget the originalconfiguration of the displayed content and/or how the user arrived atthe current display configuration. For example, as a result of a touchinput received via a touch screen display to pan the displayed screen tothe left, the displayed screen may be shifted over to the extent that itappears to the user that a new screen has replaced the previouslydisplayed screen. Similarly, a touch input may be received to switchfrom displaying one program (e.g., an e-mail application) to anotherprogram (e.g., a music player), and as a result the screen correspondingto the first program (the e-mail application) may shifted out of theviewing area to be replaced by the new screen corresponding to thesecond program (the music player). Because the touch inputs forexecuting both scenarios may be similar, and because the transition fromone screen to the other in each scenario may have a similar visualappearance, the user may be confused as to whether the newly displayedscreen is part of the original content with which the user wasinteracting (e.g., part of the content that was previously outside theviewing area) or represents new interactive content (e.g., a differentprogram).

In addition, during the transition process itself, only portions of thenew screen may be displayed to the user as the previous screen istransitioning from a state of display to a state of non-display. Forexample, only portions of the new screen that are gradually revealed asthe old screen is moved away or dissipated may be viewable to the user.Thus, the user may not be able to determine whether the new screen isthe desired screen until the old screen is completely or nearlycompletely removed.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention provide for a visualtransition between screens that indicates to the user that the user is“leaving” (e.g., transitioning away) from one screen and is “entering”(e.g., transitioning to) another screen by applying different graphicaleffects to each screen. In other words, a first graphical effect may beapplied to the first screen (e.g., the screen originally displayed tothe user representing a first interactive content), and the firstgraphical effect may be indicative of a transition from display of thefirst screen to non-display of the first screen. Likewise, a secondgraphical effect may be applied to the second screen (e.g., the screenbeing invoked by the user that is to replace the first screen, whichrepresents a second interactive content), and the second graphicaleffect may be indicative of a transition from non-display of the secondscreen to display of the second screen.

The first and second graphical effects may, together, create for theuser a visual transition from the first screen to the second screen andmay, thus, serve to help the user understand that he or she isnavigating from the display of a first interactive content to a displayof a second, different interactive content (e.g., rather than navigatingbetween different portions of the same interactive content). Moreover,the visual transition may help the user remember that he or she hasnavigated from the first interactive content to the second interactivecontent so that, if necessary, the user may be able to invoke thedisplay of other screens or navigate back to the first screenrepresenting the first interactive content. In this way, for example, ifthe user transitions to a second screen in error and discovers that thesecond interactive content represented is not the desired content, theuser may navigate to a third screen representing a third interactivecontent or back to the first screen. Said differently, providing avisual transition may help the user associate the input he or sheprovides with the result caused by the input (e.g., the transitioningfrom one screen to another) such that interaction with the displayedinteractive content may be facilitated. Furthermore, the first andsecond visual effects may be tailored to allow the user to see more ofthe second screen during the transition process, such that the user maybe able to determine sooner whether the second screen is the desiredscreen.

FIG. 1, which provides one example embodiment, illustrates a blockdiagram of a mobile terminal 10 that would benefit from embodiments ofthe present invention. It should be understood, however, that the mobileterminal 10 as illustrated and hereinafter described is merelyillustrative of one type of device that may benefit from embodiments ofthe present invention and, therefore, should not be taken to limit thescope of embodiments of the present invention. As such, althoughnumerous types of mobile terminals, such as portable digital assistants(PDAs), mobile telephones, pagers, mobile televisions, gaming devices,laptop computers, cameras, tablet computers, touch surfaces, wearabledevices, video recorders, audio/video players, radios, electronic books,positioning devices (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) devices), orany combination of the aforementioned, and other types of voice and textcommunications systems, may readily employ embodiments of the presentinvention, other devices including fixed (non-mobile) electronic devicesmay also employ some example embodiments.

The mobile terminal 10 may include an antenna 12 (or multiple antennas)in operable communication with a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16. Themobile terminal 10 may further include an apparatus, such as a processor20 or other processing device (e.g., processor 70 of FIG. 2), whichcontrols the provision of signals to and the receipt of signals from thetransmitter 14 and receiver 16, respectively. The signals may include aproximity component and/or an orientation component, as described below.The signals may further include signaling information in accordance withthe air interface standard of the applicable cellular system, and alsouser speech, received data and/or user generated data. In this regard,the mobile terminal 10 is capable of operating with one or more airinterface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, andaccess types. By way of illustration, the mobile terminal 10 is capableof operating in accordance with any of a number of first, second, thirdand/or fourth-generation communication protocols or the like. Forexample, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable of operating inaccordance with second-generation (2G) wireless communication protocolsIS-136 (time division multiple access (TDMA)), GSM (global system formobile communication), and IS-95 (code division multiple access (CDMA)),or with third-generation (3G) wireless communication protocols, such asUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), CDMA2000, widebandCDMA (WCDMA) and time division-synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA), with 3.9Gwireless communication protocol such as evolved UMTS Terrestrial RadioAccess Network (E-UTRAN), with fourth-generation (4G) wirelesscommunication protocols (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) or the like. As an alternative (or additionally), the mobileterminal 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with non-cellularcommunication mechanisms. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may becapable of communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) orother communication networks.

In some embodiments, the processor 20 may include circuitry desirablefor implementing audio and logic functions of the mobile terminal 10.For example, the processor 20 may be comprised of a digital signalprocessor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog to digitalconverters, digital to analog converters, and other support circuits.Control and signal processing functions of the mobile terminal 10 areallocated between these devices according to their respectivecapabilities. The processor 20 thus may also include the functionalityto convolutionally encode and interleave message and data prior tomodulation and transmission. The processor 20 may additionally includean internal voice coder, and may include an internal data modem.Further, the processor 20 may include functionality to operate one ormore software programs, which may be stored in memory. For example, theprocessor 20 may be capable of operating a connectivity program, such asa conventional Web browser. The connectivity program may then allow themobile terminal 10 to transmit and receive Web content, such aslocation-based content and/or other web page content, according to aWireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)and/or the like, for example.

The mobile terminal 10 may also comprise a user interface including anoutput device such as a conventional earphone or speaker 24, a ringer22, a microphone 26, a display 28, and a user input interface, all ofwhich are coupled to the processor 20. The user input interface, whichallows the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, may include any of anumber of devices allowing the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, suchas a keypad 30, a touch screen display (display 28 providing an exampleof such a touch screen display) or other input device. In embodimentsincluding the keypad 30, the keypad 30 may include the conventionalnumeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), and other hard and soft keys usedfor operating the mobile terminal 10. Alternatively or additionally, thekeypad 30 may include a conventional QWERTY keypad arrangement. Thekeypad 30 may also include various soft keys with associated functions.In addition, or alternatively, the mobile terminal 10 may include aninterface device such as a joystick or other user input interface. Someembodiments employing a touch screen display, as described furtherbelow, may omit the keypad 30 and any or all of the speaker 24, ringer22, and microphone 26 entirely. The mobile terminal 10 further includesa battery 34, such as a vibrating battery pack, for powering variouscircuits that are required to operate the mobile terminal 10, as well asoptionally providing mechanical vibration as a detectable output.

The mobile terminal 10 may further include a user identity module (UIM)38. The UIM 38 is typically a memory device having a processor built in.The UIM 38 may include, for example, a subscriber identity module (SIM),a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), a universal subscriberidentity module (USIM), a removable user identity module (R-UIM), etc.The UIM 38 typically stores information elements related to a mobilesubscriber. In addition to the UIM 38, the mobile terminal 10 may beequipped with memory. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may includevolatile memory 40, such as volatile Random Access Memory (RAM)including a cache area for the temporary storage of data. The mobileterminal 10 may also include other non-volatile memory 42, which may beembedded and/or may be removable. The memories may store any of a numberof pieces of information, and data, used by the mobile terminal 10 toimplement the functions of the mobile terminal 10.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 10 may also include a camera orother media capturing element 32 in order to capture images or video ofobjects, people, and places proximate to the user of the mobile terminal10. The mobile terminal 10 (or even some other fixed terminal) may alsopractice example embodiments in connection with images or video content(among other types of content) that are produced or generated elsewhere,but are available for consumption at the mobile terminal 10 (or fixedterminal).

An example embodiment of the invention will now be described withreference to FIG. 2, in which certain elements of an apparatus 50 forproviding for a visual transition between screens representing differentinteractive content. The apparatus 50 of FIG. 2 may be employed, forexample, in conjunction with the mobile terminal 10 of FIG. 1. However,it should be noted that the apparatus 50 of FIG. 2 may also be employedin connection with a variety of other devices, both mobile and fixed,and therefore, embodiments of the present invention should not belimited to application on devices such as the mobile terminal 10 ofFIG. 1. For example, the apparatus 50 may be employed on a personalcomputer, a tablet, a mobile telephone, or other user terminal.Moreover, in some cases, the apparatus 50 may be on a fixed device suchas server or other service platform and the content may be presented(e.g., via a server/client relationship) on a remote device such as auser terminal (e.g., the mobile terminal 10) based on processing thatoccurs at the fixed device.

It should also be noted that while FIG. 2 illustrates one example of aconfiguration of an apparatus for providing a visual transition betweenscreens representing different interactive content, numerous otherconfigurations may also be used to implement embodiments of the presentinvention. As such, in some embodiments, although devices or elementsare shown as being in communication with each other, hereinafter suchdevices or elements should be considered to be capable of being embodiedwithin a same device or element and, thus, devices or elements shown incommunication should be understood to alternatively be portions of thesame device or element.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the apparatus 50 for providing for a visualtransition between screens representing different interactive contentmay include or otherwise be in communication with a processor 70, a userinterface transceiver 72, a communication interface 74, and a memorydevice 76. In some embodiments, the processor 70 (and/or co-processorsor any other processing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated withthe processor 70) may be in communication with the memory device 76 viaa bus for passing information among components of the apparatus 50. Thememory device 76 may include, for example, one or more volatile and/ornon-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory device 76may be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storagemedium) comprising gates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that maybe retrievable by a machine (e.g., a computing device like the processor70). The memory device 76 may be configured to store information, data,content, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling theapparatus to carry out various functions in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the present invention. For example, the memory device 76could be configured to buffer input data for processing by the processor70. Additionally or alternatively, the memory device 76 could beconfigured to store instructions for execution by the processor 70.

The apparatus 50 may, in some embodiments, be a mobile terminal (e.g.,mobile terminal 10) or a fixed communication device or computing deviceconfigured to employ an example embodiment of the present invention.However, in some embodiments, the apparatus 50 may be embodied as a chipor chip set. In other words, the apparatus 50 may comprise one or morephysical packages (e.g., chips) including materials, components and/orwires on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard). The structuralassembly may provide physical strength, conservation of size, and/orlimitation of electrical interaction for component circuitry includedthereon. The apparatus 50 may therefore, in some cases, be configured toimplement an embodiment of the present invention on a single chip or asa single “system on a chip.” As such, in some cases, a chip or chipsetmay constitute means for performing one or more operations for providingthe functionalities described herein.

The processor 70 may be embodied in a number of different ways. Forexample, the processor 70 may be embodied as one or more of varioushardware processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, acontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing element withor without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing circuitryincluding integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (applicationspecific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), amicrocontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purposecomputer chip, or the like. As such, in some embodiments, the processor70 may include one or more processing cores configured to performindependently. A multi-core processor may enable multiprocessing withina single physical package. Additionally or alternatively, the processor70 may include one or more processors configured in tandem via the busto enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining and/ormultithreading.

In an example embodiment, the processor 70 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory device 76 or otherwise accessible tothe processor 70. Alternatively or additionally, the processor 70 may beconfigured to execute hard coded functionality. As such, whetherconfigured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof,the processor 70 may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied incircuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodimentof the present invention while configured accordingly. Thus, forexample, when the processor 70 is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like,the processor 70 may be specifically configured hardware for conductingthe operations described herein. Alternatively, as another example, whenthe processor 70 is embodied as an executor of software instructions,the instructions may specifically configure the processor 70 to performthe algorithms and/or operations described herein when the instructionsare executed. However, in some cases, the processor 70 may be aprocessor of a specific device (e.g., a mobile terminal or networkdevice) adapted for employing an embodiment of the present invention byfurther configuration of the processor 70 by instructions for performingthe algorithms and/or operations described herein. The processor 70 mayinclude, among other things, a clock, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) andlogic gates configured to support operation of the processor 70.

Meanwhile, the communication interface 74 may be any means such as adevice or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination ofhardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit datafrom/to a network and/or any other device or module in communicationwith the apparatus 50. In this regard, the communication interface 74may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) andsupporting hardware and/or software for enabling communications with awireless communication network. Additionally or alternatively, thecommunication interface 74 may include the circuitry for interactingwith the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s)or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s). In someenvironments, the communication interface 74 may alternatively or alsosupport wired communication. As such, for example, the communicationinterface 74 may include a communication modem and/or otherhardware/software for supporting communication via cable, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms.

The user interface transceiver 72 may be in communication with theprocessor 70 to receive an indication of a user input and/or to causeprovision of an audible, visual, mechanical or other output to the user.As such, the user interface transceiver 72 may include, for example, akeyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a display, a touch screen(s), touchareas, soft keys, a microphone, a speaker, or other input/outputmechanisms. Alternatively or additionally, the processor 70 may compriseuser interface circuitry configured to control at least some functionsof one or more user interface elements such as, for example, a speaker,ringer, microphone, display, and/or the like. The processor 70 and/oruser interface circuitry comprising the processor 70 may be configuredto control one or more functions of one or more user interface elementsthrough computer program instructions (e.g., software and/or firmware)stored on a memory accessible to the processor 70 (e.g., memory device76, and/or the like).

In an example embodiment, the apparatus 50 may include or otherwise bein communication with a touch screen display 68 (e.g., the display 28).In different example cases, the touch screen display 68 may be a twodimensional (2D) or three dimensional (3D) display. The touch screendisplay 68 may be embodied as any known touch screen display. Thus, forexample, the touch screen display 68 could be configured to enable touchrecognition by any suitable technique, such as resistive, capacitive,infrared, strain gauge, surface wave, optical imaging, dispersive signaltechnology, acoustic pulse recognition, and/or other techniques. Theuser interface transceiver 72 may be in communication with the touchscreen display 68 to receive touch inputs at the touch screen display 68and to analyze and/or modify a response to such indications based oncorresponding user actions that may be inferred or otherwise determinedresponsive to the touch inputs.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, in an example embodiment, theapparatus 50 may include a touch screen interface 80. The touch screeninterface 80 may, in some instances, be a portion of the user interfacetransceiver 72. However, in some alternative embodiments, the touchscreen interface 80 may be embodied as the processor 70 or may be aseparate entity controlled by the processor 70. As such, in someembodiments, the processor 70 may be said to cause, direct or controlthe execution or occurrence of the various functions attributed to thetouch screen interface 80 (and any components of the touch screeninterface 80) as described herein. The touch screen interface 80 may beany means such as a device or circuitry operating in accordance withsoftware or otherwise embodied in hardware or a combination of hardwareand software (e.g., processor 70 operating under software control, theprocessor 70 embodied as an ASIC or FPGA specifically configured toperform the operations described herein, or a combination thereof)thereby configuring the device or circuitry to perform the correspondingfunctions of the touch screen interface 80 as described herein. Thus, inexamples in which software is employed, a device or circuitry (e.g., theprocessor 70 in one example) executing the software forms the structureassociated with such means.

The touch screen interface 80 may be configured to receive an input inthe form of a touch event at the touch screen display 68. As such, thetouch screen interface 80 may be in communication with the touch screendisplay 68 to receive user inputs at the touch screen display 68 and tomodify a response to such inputs based on corresponding user actionsthat may be inferred or otherwise determined responsive to the inputs.Following recognition of a touch event, the touch screen interface 80may be configured to determine a classification of the touch event andprovide a corresponding function based on the touch event in somesituations.

In some embodiments, the touch screen interface 80 may include adetector 82, a display manager 84, and a gesture classifier 86. Each ofthe detector 82, the display manager 84, and the gesture classifier 86may be any device or means embodied in either hardware or a combinationof hardware and software configured to perform the correspondingfunctions associated with the detector 82, the display manager 84, andthe gesture classifier 86, respectively, as described herein. In anexemplary embodiment, each of the detector 82, the display manager 84,and the gesture classifier 86 may be controlled by or otherwise embodiedas the processor 70.

The detector 82 may be in communication with the touch screen display 68to receive user inputs in order to recognize and/or determine a touchevent based on each input received at the detector 82. A touch event maybe defined as a detection of an object, such as a stylus, finger, pen,pencil, cellular telephone, digital camera, or any other mobile device(including the mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 1) or object, cominginto contact with a portion of the touch screen display in a mannersufficient to register as a touch. In this regard, for example, a touchevent could be a detection of pressure on the screen of the touch screendisplay 68 above a particular pressure threshold over a given area.Subsequent to each touch event, the detector 82 may be furtherconfigured to pass along the data corresponding to the touch event(e.g., location of touch, length of touch, number of objects touching,touch pressure, touch area, speed of movement, direction of movement,length of delay, frequency of touch, etc.) to the gesture classifier 86for gesture classification. As such, the detector 82 may include or bein communication with one or more force sensors configured to measurethe amount of touch pressure (e.g., force over a given area) applied asa result of a touch event, as an example.

The gesture classifier 86 may be configured to recognize and/ordetermine a corresponding classification of a touch event. In otherwords, the gesture classifier 86 may be configured to perform gestureclassification to classify the touch event as any of a number ofpossible gestures. Some examples of recognizable gestures may include atouch, multi-touch, stroke, character, symbol, shape, pinch event (e.g.,a pinch in or pinch out), and/or the like.

A touch may be defined as a touch event that impacts a single area(without or with minimal movement on the surface of the touch screendisplay 68) and then is removed. A multi-touch may be defined asmultiple touch events sensed concurrently (or nearly concurrently). Astroke may be defined as a touch event followed immediately by motion ofthe object initiating the touch event while the object remains incontact with the touch screen display 68. In other words, the stroke maybe defined by motion following a touch event thereby forming acontinuous, moving touch event defining a moving series of instantaneoustouch positions (e.g., as a drag operation or as a flick operation). Assuch, a stroke 100 (shown in FIG. 3) may include a contact component A(e.g., initial contact with the touch screen display 68), a movementcomponent (e.g., motion of the object contacting the touch screendisplay while the object remains in contact, represented by the arrow100), and/or a direction component (e.g., the direction of motion of theobject across the touch screen display). In some cases, the directioncomponent may be a nominal direction that is not identical to thedirection of the movement component (e.g., a direction that is not theactual or instantaneous direction of the movement of the object acrossthe touch screen display 68), as shown in FIG. 3 via the dashed arrow105. Multiple strokes and/or touches may be used to define a particularshape or sequence of shapes to define a character or symbol.

A pinch event may be classified as either a pinch out or a pinch in(hereinafter referred to simply as a pinch). A pinch may be defined as amulti-touch, where the touch events causing the multi-touch are spacedapart. After initial occurrence of the multi-touch event involving atleast two objects, one or more of the objects may move substantiallytoward each other to simulate a pinch. Meanwhile, a pinch out may bedefined as a multi-touch, where the touch events causing the multi-touchare relatively close together, followed by movement of the objectsinitiating the multi-touch substantially away from each other. In somecases, the objects on a pinch out may be so close together initiallythat they may be interpreted as a single touch, rather than amulti-touch, which then is modified by movement of two objects away fromeach other.

The gesture classifier 86 may also be configured to communicatedetection information regarding the recognition, detection, and/orclassification of a touch event to the display manager 84. The displaymanager 84 may be configured to provide control over modifications madeto that which is displayed on the touch screen display 68 based on thedetection information received from the detector 82 and gestureclassifications provided by the gesture classifier 86 in accordance withthe responses prescribed for each respective gesture classification andimplementation characteristic determined by the gesture classifier 86.In other words, the display manager 84 may configure the display (e.g.,with respect to the content displayed and/or the user interface effectspresented relative to the content displayed) according to the gestureclassification and implementation characteristic classificationdetermined for a given touch event that may be detected at the display.

Turning now to FIGS. 4A-4L, in general, an apparatus 50 is provided,such as an apparatus embodied by the mobile terminal 10 of FIG. 1 (e.g.,a cellular phone) that has or is otherwise associated with a touchscreen display 68. As described above, the apparatus 50 may comprise atleast one processor (e.g., processor 70 of FIG. 2) and at least onememory (e.g., memory device 76 of FIG. 2) including computer programcode. The at least one memory and the computer program code may beconfigured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus 50 to at leastprovide for display of a first screen 200 representing a firstinteractive content. The apparatus may be further caused to receive aninput from a user comprising a movement component, such as a stroke 100(FIG. 3). Although the embodiments depicted in the figures and used inthe examples herein refer to a touch screen display 68 configured toreceive touch inputs, the inputs may be provided to a non-touch displayand/or via non-touch user input devices, such as a keypad or mouse. Inresponse to the input, the apparatus 50 may be caused to provide for avisual transition from the first screen 200 to a second screen 300(shown, e.g., in FIG. 4L), where the second screen represents a second,different interactive content.

FIGS. 4A through 4L present a sequence of images that illustrate theprogression of an example of the visual transition that may be provided.With reference to the figures, the visual transition may be provided byapplying a first graphical effect to the display of the first screen 200and applying a second graphical effect to the display of the secondscreen, the first graphical effect being different from the secondgraphical effect, as described in greater detail below. The firstgraphical effect is indicative of a transition from display of the firstscreen 200 (FIG. 4A) to non-display of the first screen (FIG. 4L),whereas the second graphical effect is indicative of a transition fromnon-display of the second screen 300 (FIG. 4A) to display of the secondscreen (FIG. 4L). Thus, the combined result of the first and secondgraphical effects is to convey to the user a visual transition from thefirst screen 200 to the second screen 300, while at the same timeindicating to the user which screen the user is transitioning away from(e.g., to a state of non-display) and which screen the user istransitioning to (e.g., to a state of display).

As used herein, the term “interactive content” refers to informationpresented to the user via the display 68 (FIG. 2) or the display 28(FIG. 1), either graphical (such as using icons, photos, illustrations,etc.) or textual, with which the user may interact in a particular wayfor a particular purpose. For example, as shown in the example depictedin FIGS. 4A-4L, the first interactive content may include informationthat is presented to the user as part of an idle screen, such as thecurrent time, the day of the week, the date, and a background image. Thefirst interactive content may be configured such that the user can onlyinteract with the content in a very limited manner, such as by shiftingthe content over to one side to change the state of the apparatus fromidle to active. Thus, the purpose of the first interactive content maybe to provide information to the user (e.g., providing time and dateinformation to the user) and to guard against the accidental entry ofuser input, such as through the user's incidental and unintentionalcontact with the display 68.

Continuing this example, the second interactive content (shown in FIG.4L) may include a summary of recent activities undertaken by the uservia the device (e.g., music played or available), the current weather,recent phone calls, and/or a list of programs that may be launched bythe user. The second interactive content may be configured such that theuser can more fully interact with the content, such as by selecting anicon to launch a program, expanding a displayed item to access detailsor further information, modify device settings, etc. Thus, the purposeof the second interactive content in this case may be to receive inputfrom the user and to execute certain operations based on the inputreceived.

The particular arrangement and presentation of interactive content isdescribed herein as being provided via “screens” that are displayed tothe user upon the display 68 of the apparatus. As noted above, the firstscreen 200 thus represents the first interactive content, and the secondscreen 300 represents the second interactive content. In other words,each screen presents to the user a collection of content elements thatmake up the respective interactive content. In FIG. 4A, for example, thedisplayed time (10:49) is a content element of the first screen 200 andis part of the first interactive content. The screen may be configuredsuch that a graphical effect that is applied to the screen (e.g., inresponse to receipt of a user's touch input to a particular area of thescreen) may be applied to all of the interactive content represented onthe respective screen. Thus, referring again to the example illustratedin FIGS. 4A-4L, panning of the first screen 200 to the left via a stroketouch event may serve to shift all of the first interactive contentdisplayed on the first screen to the left, including content that maynot have been directly contacted by the user's touch input (stroke).

In the depicted examples of FIGS. 4A and 4L, each respective screen isdisplayed using the entire viewing area provided on the apparatus 50. Inother embodiments, however, such as shown in FIG. 5, the memory andcomputer program code may be configured to, with the processor, causethe apparatus to provide for display of a viewing area 120, and thedisplay of at least one of the first screen or the second screen may beprovided in a portion of the viewing area. Said differently, the viewingarea 120 may, in some cases, be larger than the portion of the screenthat is displayed for the user (which may be, for example, a portion ofthe first or second screen) and may be considered, for example, avirtual display area 130 (e.g., a window) within the larger viewingarea.

As noted above, in some cases the screen may be larger than the viewingarea, such that the entire screen does not fit within the bounds of theviewing area (e.g., the entire screen cannot be displayed to the user atthe same time). In such a case, the user may provide an input to pan thescreen so as to view portions of the screen that may be outside theviewing area. The input to perform panning within the same screen may,thus, be different from the input for invoking a transition from thefirst screen to the second screen. For example, transitioning from thefirst screen to the second screen may require that the touch componentof the input (e.g., the initial contact with the touch screen display)be received at an edge of the display, whereas panning within the samescreen (e.g., within the first screen) may require that the touchcomponent of the input be received in an area of the display spaced awayfrom the edge.

Accordingly, in some cases, the first interactive content may comprisedifferent information than the second interactive content. In theexample shown in FIGS. 4A-4L, the second interactive content 300includes additional information as compared to the first interactivecontent 200, such as icons 310 for launching a program to play music, anindication of battery life 320, and an indication of the current weather330.

Alternatively or additionally, the first interactive content may beconfigured to allow the user to interact with the first interactivecontent according to a first set of rules, and the second interactivecontent may be configured to allow the user to interact with the secondinteractive content according to a second set of rules. With referenceto FIG. 4A, for example, the first screen 200 may be configured suchthat only a stroke touch event that includes a movement component andthat has a directional component to the left is registered as an input(the result of which, in this case, is the panning of the screen). Otherinputs that do not satisfy these criteria, such as a simple touch,multi-touch, pinch, tap, press, or long press (among others) would notbe recognized as inputs and would be disregarded by the apparatus.Similarly, the second screen 300 (FIG. 4L) may be configured such thatonly touch events received at certain locations of the touch screendisplay are registered as inputs. Moreover, the operation executed uponreceipt of the input may depend on the location at which the touch eventis received. Thus, a touch event in a blank area of the screen, forexample, may not cause any operation to be executed.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4L and FIGS. 6A-6C, various types of graphicaleffects may applied to the first and second screens 200, 300, thecombination of which is configured to provide for a visual transitionfrom the first screen to the second screen. One of the first or secondgraphical effects may be, for example, a fade effect, a zoom effect, apan effect, a folding effect (e.g., where the screen appears to foldonto itself to get smaller or be unfolded to grow larger), or acombination of these effects, in addition to other effects.

In the depicted embodiment, for example, a pan effect is applied to thefirst screen, whereas a zoom effect is applied to the second screen.Thus, upon receipt of a stroke gesture in this example, the first screen200 may be shifted with respect to the available viewing area 120 (e.g.,the area of the touch screen display), as shown by the arrows 260 inFIGS. 6A and 6B, until the first screen has been moved outside of theviewing area and the second screen has taken its place.

In this regard, the first screen may define a right side edge 220, aleft side edge 230, a top edge 240, and a bottom edge 250 (FIG. 4A). Asthe stroke gesture (not shown) is received, the right side edge 220 maybe moved to the left, such that the left side edge 230 is shiftedoutside the viewing area 120 and the right side edge 220 getsprogressively closer to the left edge 140 of the viewing area. Thisprogression is shown in the example depicted in FIGS. 4A-4L.

As the first screen 200 pans to the left (e.g., as the first graphicaleffect, in this case a pan effect, is applied to the first screen), thesecond screen 300 may be gradually revealed to the right of the rightside edge 220 in this example (FIGS. 4B-4K) until, in FIG. 4L, thesecond screen has replaced the first screen. As part of the transition,a second graphical effect may be applied to the second screen 300.

In the example shown in FIGS. 4A-4L, the second graphical effect that isapplied to the second screen 300 comprises a combination of a fadeeffect (the second interactive content that is displayed growsprogressively brighter as the second screen is revealed) and a zoomeffect (the second interactive content grows progressively larger as thesecond screen is revealed). For example, at least some of the contentelements appear brighter in FIG. 4L and are larger in FIG. 4L ascompared to, for example, FIG. 4D (in which only a small portion of thesecond screen 300 has been revealed).

In some cases, the second graphical effect is applied concurrently withthe first graphical effect on the respective screens, such that, in theexample described above, the second interactive content displayed viathe second screen would grow progressively brighter and larger startingat substantially the same time that the first screen begins to pan fromthe right to the left and ending at substantially the same time that thefirst screen is moved completely outside the viewing area. Saiddifferently, the second graphical effect may be applied oversubstantially the same time period that the first screen is transitionedfrom a state of display to a state of non-display.

In other cases, however, the second graphical effect may only be appliedto the second screen during or overlapping with only a portion of thetime over which the first graphical effect is applied to the firstscreen. For example, in FIGS. 6A-6C, the first graphical effect appliedto the first screen 200 (shown using diagonal lines to allow theentirety of the second screen 300 to be seen for purposes ofexplanation) is a pan effect, and the second graphical effect is a zoomeffect. The second screen 300, in this example, may only begin growinglarger once a threshold portion of the second screen has been revealedto the user (e.g., once 60% of the second screen is visible to the user,depicted in FIG. 6B). In this way, the second screen may appear to“pop-out” to the user (e.g., between FIGS. 6B and 6C in the depictedexample). In addition, this delay may ensure that the second screen ispresented at a minimum size that is readable to the user.

As noted above, the first and second graphical effects are selected soas to indicate to the user whether the respective screen is one that isgoing from a state of display to a state of non-display or vice versa.Thus, each of the first and second graphical effects may be dependent,at least in part, on the particular type of transition that isoccurring. Accordingly, when the user is transitioning from the firstscreen to the second screen, the first graphical effect may be appliedto the first screen and the second graphical effect may be applied tothe second screen; however, if the user is transitioning from the secondscreen to the first screen, the first graphical effect would be appliedto the second screen and the second graphical effect would be applied tothe first screen.

Moreover, the first graphical effect and the second graphical effectsare different transition effects. Thus, if the first graphical effect isa pan effect, the second graphical effect may be any effect other than apan effect. Likewise, if the first graphical effect is a zoom effect,the second graphical effect may be any effect other than a zoom effect.Thus, if the first graphical effect is a “zoom out” effect, in which thefirst interactive content that is displayed grows progressively smaller,the second graphical effect may be any effect other than a “zoom out” ora “zoom in” effect, (a “zoom in” effect being considered the samegraphical effect as a “zoom out” effect, one being the inverse of theother).

In some embodiments, the first graphical effect may comprise adirectional component along a first axis and the second graphical effectmay comprise a directional component along a second axis, and the firstaxis may be different from the second axis. With reference to FIGS.6A-6C, for example, the first graphical effect (e.g., a pan effect) mayinclude a directional component along the X-axis (e.g., in the −Xdirection), while the second graphical effect (e.g., a zoom effect) mayinclude a directional component along the Z-axis (e.g., in the +Zdirection, or out of the page, simulated by a growth in size in a devicewith a 2D display).

Furthermore, the movement component of the input (e.g., the strokegesture described in the examples above) may include a directionalcomponent (e.g., movement to the left), and the directional component ofthe input may be substantially the same as the directional component ofone of the first or second graphical effects. Thus, in the exampleillustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C, the directional component of the input (inthe −X direction for the stroke to the left) is substantially the sameas the directional component of the pan effect applied to the firstscreen, shown by the arrows 260.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the visual transition (e.g., thecombination of the first and second effects as perceived by the user)from the first screen to the second screen may be proportional to themovement component of the input. Thus, as the user applies a strokegesture to the touch screen display, the first screen may move from astate of display to a state of non-display and the second screen maymove from a state of non-display to a state of display at a speed thatis proportional to the speed at which the input was applied by the user.Moreover, the user may, in some cases, reverse the visual transition byreversing the direction of the stroke gesture if the stroke gesture hasnot yet been completed (e.g., the user's finger is still contacting thetouch screen display). Thus, the reversion of the first screen towardits original state of display and the reversion of the second screentoward its original state of non-display may likewise occur at a speedthat is proportional to the speed of the reverse stroke gesture. Inother cases, however, the first graphical effect may be automaticallyapplied upon receipt of at least a portion of the stroke gesture (e.g.,may not be controllable by the user), such that the stroke gesture inthis example could not be reversed once initiated.

Although the examples above describe a user input in the form of astroke gesture from a right side of the display to a left side of thedisplay, various other inputs may be used depending on the type ofdevice and/or how the device is configured to receive user input andpresent information. In some cases, for example, the user may provide astroke gesture from an area at the top of the display toward an area atthe bottom of the display, and the first graphical effect applied to thefirst screen in response may comprise a pan effect that shifts the firstscreen down. As another example, with respect to a 3D display, the userinput may comprise a user “pushing” the first screen backward (e.g., inthe −Z direction), with the second graphical effect applied to thesecond screen comprising a different effect, such as the second screensliding into the viewing area from the edge of the viewing area.Moreover, the user input may be received via interaction with the firstscreen, the second screen, or, in some cases, a portion of the viewingarea that is not part of either the first screen or the second screen(such as a toolbar or a “tab” that is present regardless of which screenis displayed). For example, the user may provide a stroke gesturedownward starting from an edge of the second screen that may be visibleabove a top edge of the first screen. The downward stroke may, in turn,result in a pan effect that pulls the second screen downward over thefirst screen, and zoom effect may be applied to the first screen thatmay cause the first screen to “pop in” (e.g., into the page in the −Zdirection).

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of systems, methods, and computer programproducts according to example embodiments of the invention. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart, and combinations of blocksin the flowchart, may be implemented by various means, such as hardware,firmware, processor, circuitry, and/or other devices associated withexecution of software including one or more computer programinstructions. For example, one or more of the procedures described abovemay be embodied by computer program instructions. In this regard, thecomputer program instructions which embody the procedures describedabove may be stored by a memory device of an apparatus employing anembodiment of the present invention and executed by a processor in theapparatus. As will be appreciated, any such computer programinstructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmableapparatus (e.g., hardware) to produce a machine, such that the resultingcomputer or other programmable apparatus implements the functionsspecified in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer-readable memory that may direct acomputer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture the execution of whichimplements the function specified in the flowchart block(s). Thecomputer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable apparatus to cause a series of operations to beperformed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide operations forimplementing the functions specified in the flowchart block(s).

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart support combinations of means forperforming the specified functions, combinations of operations forperforming the specified functions, and program instruction means forperforming the specified functions. It will also be understood that oneor more blocks of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computersystems which perform the specified functions, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In this regard, one embodiment of a method for providing a visualtransition between screens representing different interactive content,as shown in FIG. 7, includes providing for display of a first screenrepresenting a first interactive content at Block 400, receiving aninput from a user comprising a movement component at Block 410, andproviding for a visual transition from the first screen to a secondscreen representing a second, different interactive content in responseto the input at Block 420 by applying a first graphical effect to thedisplay of the first screen and applying a second graphical effect tothe second screen, the first graphical effect being different from thesecond graphical effect, as described above. The visual transition maybe proportional to the movement component. Moreover, the first graphicaleffect may be indicative of a transition from display of the firstscreen to non-display of the first screen, and the second graphicaleffect may be indicative of a transition from non-display of the secondscreen to display of the second screen.

As noted above, in some cases one of the first or second graphicaleffects is a fade effect, a zoom effect, a pan effect, or a foldingeffect. The first graphical effect may comprise a directional componentalong a first axis, and the second graphical effect may comprise adirectional component along a second axis, where the first axis isdifferent from the second axis. Thus, in some cases, the movementcomponent of the input may comprise a directional component, and thedirectional component of the input may be substantially the same as thedirectional component of one of the first or second graphical effects.

In some embodiments, the first interactive content may comprisedifferent information than the second interactive content. Furthermore,the first interactive content may be configured to allow the user tointeract with the first interactive content according to a first set ofrules, and the second interactive content may be configured to allow theuser to interact with the second interactive content according to asecond set of rules, as described above. In some cases, the method mayfurther include providing for display of a viewing area at Block 430,where the display of at least one of the first screen or the secondscreen is provided in a portion of the viewing area.

In some embodiments, certain ones of the operations above may bemodified or further amplified as described below. Furthermore, in someembodiments, additional optional operations may be included, someexamples of which are shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7. Modifications,additions, or amplifications to the operations above may be performed inany order and in any combination.

In an example embodiment, an apparatus for performing the method of FIG.7 above may comprise a processor (e.g., the processor 70 of FIG. 2)configured to perform some or each of the operations (400-430) describedabove. The processor may, for example, be configured to perform theoperations (400-430) by performing hardware implemented logicalfunctions, executing stored instructions, or executing algorithms forperforming each of the operations. Alternatively, the apparatus maycomprise means for performing each of the operations described above. Inthis regard, according to an example embodiment, examples of means forperforming at least portions of operations 400 and 420 may comprise, forexample, the user interface transceiver 72, the communication interface74, the processor 70, the memory device 76, and/or a device or circuitfor executing instructions or executing an algorithm for processinginformation as described above. Examples of means for performingoperation 410 may comprise, for example, the user interface transceiver72, the processor 70, the memory device 76, and/or a device or circuitfor executing instructions or executing an algorithm for processinginformation as described above. Examples of means for performingoperation 430 may comprise, for example, the user interface transceiver72, the processor 70, and/or a device or circuit for executinginstructions or executing an algorithm for processing information asdescribed above.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain examplecombinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated thatdifferent combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided byalternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appendedclaims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elementsand/or functions than those explicitly described above are alsocontemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising at least one processorand at least one memory including computer program code, the at leastone memory and the computer program code configured to, with theprocessor, cause the apparatus to at least: provide for display of afirst screen representing a first interactive content; receive an inputfrom a user comprising a movement component; and provide for a visualtransition from the first screen to a second screen representing asecond, different interactive content in response to the input byapplying a first graphical effect to the display of the first screen andapplying a second graphical effect to the display of the second screen,the first graphical effect being different from the second graphicaleffect, wherein the visual transition is proportional to the movementcomponent, wherein the first graphical effect is indicative of atransition from display of the first screen to non-display of the firstscreen, and wherein the second graphical effect is indicative of atransition from non-display of the second screen to display of thesecond screen.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the first orsecond graphical effects is a fade effect, a zoom effect, a pan effect,or a folding effect.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstgraphical effect comprises a directional component along a first axisand the second graphical effect comprises a directional component alonga second axis, wherein the first axis is different from the second axis.4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the movement component of the inputcomprises a directional component, and wherein the directional componentof the input is substantially the same as the directional component ofone of the first or second graphical effects.
 5. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the first interactive content comprises different informationthan the second interactive content.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first interactive content is configured to allow the user tointeract with the first interactive content according to a first set ofrules, and wherein the second interactive content is configured to allowthe user to interact with the second interactive content according to asecond set of rules.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory andcomputer program code are configured to, with the processor, cause theapparatus to provide for display of a viewing area, wherein the displayof at least one of the first screen or the second screen is provided ina portion of the viewing area.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinput is received via a 3D display and comprises a force inputrepresenting a pushing of the first screen in the −Z direction.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the second graphical effect applied to thedisplay of second screen comprises the second screen sliding into aviewing area from an edge of the viewing area.
 10. A method comprising:providing for display of a first screen representing a first interactivecontent; receiving an input from a user comprising a movement component;and providing for a visual transition from the first screen to a secondscreen representing a second, different interactive content in responseto the input by applying a first graphical effect to the display of thefirst screen and applying a second graphical effect to the display ofthe second screen, the first graphical effect being different from thesecond graphical effect, wherein the visual transition is proportionalto the movement component, wherein the first graphical effect isindicative of a transition from display of the first screen tonon-display of the first screen, and wherein the second graphical effectis indicative of a transition from non-display of the second screen todisplay of the second screen.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein one ofthe first or second graphical effects is a fade effect, a zoom effect, apan effect, or a folding effect.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein thefirst graphical effect comprises a directional component along a firstaxis and the second graphical effect comprises a directional componentalong a second axis, wherein the first axis is different from the secondaxis.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the movement component of theinput comprises a directional component, and wherein the directionalcomponent of the input is substantially the same as the directionalcomponent of one of the first or second graphical effects.
 14. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the first interactive content comprisesdifferent information than the second interactive content.
 15. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the first interactive content is configuredto allow the user to interact with the first interactive contentaccording to a first set of rules, and wherein the second interactivecontent is configured to allow the user to interact with the secondinteractive content according to a second set of rules.
 16. The methodof claim 10 further comprising providing for display of a viewing area,wherein the display of at least one of the first screen or the secondscreen is provided in a portion of the viewing area.
 17. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the input is received via a 3D display and comprises aforce input representing a pushing of the first screen in the −Zdirection.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the second graphicaleffect applied to the display of the second screen comprises the secondscreen sliding into a viewing area from an edge of the viewing area. 19.A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readablestorage medium having computer-executable program code portions storedtherein, the computer-executable program code portions comprisingprogram code instructions for: providing for display of a first screenrepresenting a first interactive content; receiving an input from a usercomprising a movement component; and providing for a visual transitionfrom the first screen to a second screen representing a second,different interactive content in response to the input by applying afirst graphical effect to the display of the first screen and applying asecond graphical effect to the display of the second screen, the firstgraphical effect being different from the second graphical effect,wherein the visual transition is proportional to the movement component,wherein the first graphical effect is indicative of a transition fromdisplay of the first screen to non-display of the first screen, andwherein the second graphical effect is indicative of a transition fromnon-display of the second screen to display of the second screen. 20.The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the first graphicaleffect comprises a directional component along a first axis and thesecond graphical effect comprises a directional component along a secondaxis, wherein the first axis is different from the second axis.